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Plea For DPS Director Who Schemed To Reap $1.3M For Tutoring Never Provided

DETROIT (WWJ/AP) – A woman who retired from Detroit Public Schools after nearly 40 years has pleaded guilty to fraud in a scheme to reap nearly $1.3 million for tutoring services that weren’t provided.

Carolyn Starkey Darden told a judge Wednesday that she had served hundreds of students, but she also admitted to submitting “false and exaggerated” billings over seven years.

Federal agents trying to recover money have identified nearly $1 million in a variety of accounts linked to Darden.

Defense lawyer Gerald Evelyn says it’s a “sad conclusion” to Darden’s long career at the Detroit district. She retired in 2005 as director of grant development. She’ll be sentenced on Oct. 28.

Separately, a dozen former or current Detroit principals were charged with accepting kickbacks from a contractor.

According to court filings released ahead of the announcement in March, a total of 13 DPS principals — including one who also worked as an administrator — allegedly conspired with Shy in a scheme to line their own pockets by submitting invoices for supplies that the schools were never to receive. The scheme began in 2002 and continued until January 2015.